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New Tank: Stocking, filtration...

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I am looking to begin setting up a 55 gallon (roughly 208 litres... maybe) aquarium, I have the look of it visualized, and I would like to have it become a central african themed tank, as I already have a small senegal bichir, and was thinking about adding the following: 1 Peters elephant nose,1 leopard ctenopoma, 1 feather finned synodontis catfish, and maybe a small, african knifefish of some kind... plus said bichir. Recommendations?
I am aware of the needs of the elephant nose fish, as it needs pristine water, which brings me to my next topic: filtration. what is the best kind? I already have a used internal filter that doesn't work super well, but still runs, and i would use that in combination with a canister, or something else...

Read those and hten please reconsider the plan. If you want to push ahead then make sure there's hiding places and territorial boundaries. Get a pair of 200 gallon/hour externals hooked up but make sure you don't create much flow. Go easy on the ligth or get floating plants these fish don't like bright light

Read those and hten please reconsider the plan. If you want to push ahead then make sure there's hiding places and territorial boundaries. Get a pair of 200 gallon/hour externals hooked up but make sure you don't create much flow. Go easy on the ligth or get floating plants these fish don't like bright light

i talked to the guy at my lfs, he said as long as there's only one of each, and i do include many hiding places, they should be fine together. Although he didn't say anything about lighting... what size/ watt would you recommend?

I would certainly disagree with your LFS guy about the stocking. That is going to be very very risky at best. I have kept Elephantnose fish in the past and I can not see one surviving too long with aggressive fish in the tank. He would most likely remain stressed all the time and die from complications related to the stress. You should reconsider your plan and adjust it based on if you want a aggressive set-up, or a community set-up.

For filtration, I think a combination of a canister and HOB filter would be good, such as a Rena XP3 and a AquaClear 70. That would give you really good filtration for not too much $$$. Lighting would depend on if you would like plants or not as well as what type of plants

If you take your time to do the research FIRST, you can successfully set-up and keep ANY type of aquarium with ease."Not using a quarantine tank is like playing Russian roulette. Nobody wins the game, some people just get to play longer than others." - Anthony CalfoFishless CycleCycling with FishMarine Aquarium Info [URL="http://saltwater.aquaticcommunity.com/"]

As for the other fish, I would suggest doing a little research to see which ones you like and reduce the stocking list a little as there likely will not be enough room in a 55 gallon tank for all the territory space these fish would need once they reach their fully grown adult sizes.

Also, consider talldutchie's advice and give them hiding spots fro when the aggression will get bad at times

If you take your time to do the research FIRST, you can successfully set-up and keep ANY type of aquarium with ease."Not using a quarantine tank is like playing Russian roulette. Nobody wins the game, some people just get to play longer than others." - Anthony CalfoFishless CycleCycling with FishMarine Aquarium Info [URL="http://saltwater.aquaticcommunity.com/"]

Bioload is not really the issue here. IT's aggression and fish eating eachother. Have you actually looked at the links I gave you? Merely throwing 3, 4 potentially aggressive species in a tank is something I see the teen boys on yahoo do a lot. It hardly ever ends well. If you want to keep fish that are top predators (or very nearly so) in the natural habitat you will need to think it trough and eventually you may need to accept that you can keep far fewer in a single tank than you'd like.

The elephantfish is a nice and interesting looking creature. If you can do soft water perhaps keep one of them with a school of congo tetra and a butterfly fish (Pantodon buchholzi). Use sand, plant well and make sure you create some shady areas. African blackwater tanks are not done that often and hardly ever done well so there's a challenge.

how you figured out that i am a teen boy, i will never know, honestly. unless you got that from the comment about my father...
I did in fact check out those links. i deeply apologize if i sound really stubborn, but i have trouble seeing a 16 inch bichir inhaling the ctenopoma. Although i have been very wrong before...
and From what it sounds like, i am likely going to end up leaving the elephant nose out

i reread all three of those articles you posted a few times, they actually said that these species were compatible(bichir, elephant nose and leopard ctenopoma). but i think i will go along without elephant nose anyways